This section of the website is part of the Web Communities for Statistics and Social Innovation (Web-COSI) project (funded by the European Commission) that is designed to improve people's engagement with 'beyond GDP' statistics.

In times of economic uncertainty and slow growth, it is more important than ever for economies to find alternative ways to gain a competitive advantage. Healthy populations can be the solution. Through increased productivity, reduced healthcare costs and overall higher levels of well-being, investments in the health system yield a proven return in terms of health outcomes and economic growth.
Developed by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Bain & Company, this report provides a pragmatic approach to assessing the full range of costs and benefits societies face when maximizing healthy life years. By showcasing the ROI results of specific public and private stakeholder interventions, this report aims to shift the global debate from healthy populations as a cost to healthy populations as an investment with positive health and economic returns.

As gender parity becomes a strategic priority for organizations and governments, demand is increasing for translating insights into multistakeholder dialogue, collaboration and action to accelerate the path to gender equality. In 2012, the World Economic Forum launched the Gender Parity Taskforces to address the need for cooperation between government and business, and between businesses to address gender equality. The pilot taskforces aim to close the economic gender gap by up to 10% in three years in Mexico, Turkey, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
This report provides an initial update and an overview of the taskforce model, as a tool for the four pilot countries and a starting point for others who seek to use a practical framework for accelerating progress on closing economic gender gaps.

Taking a 10-year outlook, the report assesses 31 risks that are global in nature and have the potential to cause significant negative impact across entire countries and industries if they take place. The risks are grouped under five categories – economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological – and measured in terms of their likelihood and potential impact

The Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies, providing insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. The report remains the most comprehensive assessment of national competitiveness worldwide, providing a platform for dialogue between government, business and civil society about the actions required to improve economic prosperity. Competitiveness is defined as the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. The level of productivity, in turn, sets the level of prosperity that can be earned by an economy.
The different aspects of competitiveness are captured in 12 pillars, which compose the Global Competitiveness Index. This 35th edition emphasizes innovation and skills as the key drivers of economic growth. While these increasingly influence competitiveness and the global economy tentatively recovers from the economic crisis, significant risks remain, resulting from a strained geopolitical situation, rising income inequality and the potential tightening of financial conditions. It is therefore crucial to address these structural challenges to ensure more sustainable and inclusive growth. More than ever, cooperative leadership among business, government and civil society is needed to re-establish sustainable growth and raise living standards throughout the world.